On any given day the Kenilworth Union Church is bustling with activity, much of it centered on children. The Kenilworth institution, 110 years old, has steadily built its congregation to almost 3,000 members. Its Church School program has about 1,000 infants through 8th graders participating. In spite of the high numbers, the program's 150 volunteer teachers and 100 high school-age assistants are diligent about learning each child's name. "It's very important that the...

While many details of Winnetka's $61 million stormwater management plan are yet to be determined, officials say one thing is certain: If the measure if passed, everyone in town will pay their fair share of a proposed utility fee. That includes non-profit organizations such as public and private schools, churches and social service agencies. Unlike property taxes, for which non-profits are exempt, the utility fees will be based upon the...

Adam Palinski's argument that he falsely claimed responsibility for setting the fire last year that destroyed St. Michael Catholic Church in Wheaton in a ploy for attention was rejected by a DuPage County jury that convicted him Thursday of arson. The jury deliberated about 1 1/2 hours after a three-day trial. Palinski of Wheaton had attended the church and church school. Palinski, 22, testified Thursday, stating that his admissions of guilt in videotaped statements to...

A buzz came over St. Mary's Catholic Parish in West Chicago last week, as smiling members drifted in, stopping to watch staff hang up yellow bunting to celebrate the new pope announced on March 13. The occasion brought in Linda Helminiak after work, who knelt down at the pew and thanked God for his selection of Argentina's Jorge Mario Bergoglio. "I praised him that his will was done in such a wonderful, holy man. It's a wonderful day for people of all faiths and...

A routine church school board meeting turned into a cauldron of controversy Tuesday night as about 200 Winnetka parishioners showed up to debate accepting a priest with a history of sexual contact with teenagers. Rev. Thomas Swade was removed from St. Dorothy Catholic Church, 450 E. 78th St., Chicago, in 1992 after six people stepped forward with allegations of sexual touching and other acts. Now, Swade may be reinstated at Sts. Faith, Hope and Charity Catholic Church, 191...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to end free water for nonprofits emerged Wednesday as a possible sticking point in his budget proposal as aldermen questioned whether religious organizations should be made to pay. Ald. Edward Burke, chairman of the City Council Finance Committee, said he wanted to exempt religious institutions and their schools from paying their water bills. Burke, 14th, brought his concerns to light during the opening day of council hearings on...

Six chalices worth an estimated $7,000, a television set and various food items were stolen from St. David's Bridgeport Catholic Academy, 3207 S. Emerald Ave., by thieves who broke into the church school through a classroom window, according to detectives. The religious items were stolen from a second floor safe that the thieves unsuccessfully attempted to remove from the building.

Paul O. Manz was a former artist-in-residence at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and cantor of a North Side church who played the organ with stylish vitality and reinvigorated the custom of singalongs, known as "hymn sings." Mr. Manz, 90, died Wednesday, Oct. 28, in St. Paul, Minn., a school spokesman said. According to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, he had been in hospice care for weeks. After a long...

At least $67,000 was stolen Sunday from St. Bede the Venerable Catholic Church, 8200 S. Kostner Ave., following the church's 10th annual Summerfest carnival. The money was taken from a safe in the church office sometime before Monday morning, when church officials went to deposit the carnival proceeds at a neighborhood bank and discovered that about two-thirds of the money was missing, Father Tom Koys said. Money from the 3-day carnival helps cover salaries and bills for the church, church...

Helen E. Case started the first preschool in Chinatown in the early 1950s and for 36 years helped hundreds of youngsters who spoke only Chinese at home learn English before they entered grade school. Miss Case, 86, died of complications from cancer on Thursday, April 2, at St. Paul's House, a North Side nursing home, said Sylvia Wu, director of the Pui Tak Christian School at the Chinese Christian Union Church in Chinatown. A lifelong resident of...

The abrupt closing of a Melrose Park private school last week, allegedly for financial reasons, has left parents fuming, accusing the pastor of its sponsoring church of putting his ambitions ahead of the students. The closing of the McNelty School, announced by Rev. John Belser during services in First Baptist Church in Melrose Park on July 16, also left parents scrambling to find placement for their children. About 125 parents, teachers and students came to a rally...

Carl B. Smith, 68, retired assistant principal at Haines Elementary School, died Tuesday in St. Joseph Hospital. He served as a teacher and administrator at the school for 40 years. A Chicago native, he attended Chicago Teachers College and earned a master of science degree in mathematics from De Paul University. Mr. Smith served in the medical corps during World War II. He was a deacon and elder in Crerar Memorial Presbyterian Church and served as superintendent of its church school.

Anthony Belli was a master of the technical aspects of construction for an architectural firm that designed many Chicago area churches, as well as St. Patrick's High School. Mr. Belli, 82, died of sarcoma Thursday, June 21, in his home in the Belmont Central neighborhood, said his wife, Louise. Mr. Belli and his brother Edo formed Belli & Belli after World War II. Mr. Belli's education at the University of Illinois had been interrupted by the war, but by learning on the job and taking courses...

Daniel Hopkins, 54, a teacher in Chicago public schools and a former assistant principal, died in his South Side home Saturday. A native of Thomas County, Ga., he earned a bachelor's degree from Ft. Valley State College in Ft. Valley, Ga. He then received a master's degree from the University of Chicago and a doctorate in school administration, supervision and curriculum from Florida State University. He taught at the Horace Mann and Funston Schools as well as Morton Career Academy.

A five-year effort by St. James Catholic Church to expand its school building and consolidate classrooms is on track with Arlington Heights trustees' approval of the $11.4 million plan. There are a few details to be settled before a March 5 vote, but the parish at 820 N. Arlington Heights Rd. plans to expand the building on its west campus. That site now houses junior high school pupils, while elementary and preschool pupils attend classes in the 80-year-old building on the east side...

Sister Maria Bernadette, a 65-year-old nun who has been feuding with her church's bishop for about three years, lost what may be her last round this week when a Cook County Circuit Court judge allowed the church to evict her from a Northwest Side convent. Judge Michael Stuttley of Eviction Court ruled that the Queen of Peace Convent, 4108 N. Kedvale Ave., belongs to the North American Old Roman Catholic Church, but stayed the effect of his order for 28 days to allow...

They're not quite pin-ups from skin magazines, but to a group of parents in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood the nude figures in the windows across the street from St. Procopius Catholic Church seem just as smutty. Actually, they are posters from the works of the 19th Century French painter William Bouguereau, and they're quite impressive. But they're also quite large, and the subjects are quite naked. Local residents aren't buying the line from the owner of the building where they are displayed, that he's...